Worship Shapes the Worshippers – Psalm 135

“Praise the Lord! Praise the Name of the Lord! Praise Him, O you servants of the Lord! You who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God, praise the Lord, for the Lord is good. Sing praises to His Name, for it is pleasant.” Psalm 135:1-3

Psalm 135 teaches us WHO should praise God, WHAT we should praise Him for, and WHY praising Him is a privilege. [1]

We should thank God for the things He has done for us and praise Him for who He is. God is good, great, and faithful. He deserves to be spoken well of and honored in every way. [2]

The Psalmist calls “the servants of the Lord,” especially priests and Levites to praise the Lord. They stood in the temple and worshiped Him there. He also called the worshippers in the courts of God’s house to praise the Lord. These people were not in the courts due to official vocation but by voluntary choice. They chose to gather in the courts of God’s house to worship Him. [3]

The Lord deserves our praise because He is good. He is the source of all goodness. When we speak about God’s goodness, we honor one of His greatest attributes. [4]

Psalm 135 says to, “Sing praises to His name, for it is pleasant.” When we worship the Lord, He blesses us with His presence, and His presence is wonderful! To praise God is to do what those who have went before us into heaven do. It is in a sense a profession of faith about our future.

“For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His special treasure.” Psalm 135:1-4

We should praise the Lord because of the special relationship He has given to us. In Jeremiah 13:11, the Lord said to Israel, “I have chosen you as My people, that you might be unto Me for a name and a praise.” In Exodus 19:5, God called Israel His “peculiar treasure” above all other nations. He did this so that they would bring Him glory and praise. [5]

Thanks to Jesus dying on the cross for the sins of the whole world, we Gentiles, who believe in Christ, are also God’s special treasure. There is no difference. All who believe in Jesus are forgiven by God of all their sins and are coheirs with Christ in His eternal kingdom.

“For I know that the Lord is great, and our Lord is above all gods.” Psalm 135:5

God’s greatness cannot be measured by human standards. He is not restricted by time, place, or distance. The greatness of God cannot be captured in images made out of wood, metal or stone. He is greater than all gods people create with hands and imaginations.

“Whatever the Lord pleases He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deep places.” Psalm 135:6

In Matthew 28:18, Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” He can stop or start storms. He can end a person’s life and make a dead person alive again. He can make something out of nothing. He can multiply food or cause food crops to fail. He can destroy a massive army with words from His mouth. Demons flee at His rebuke. Love, peace and joy are fruits of His Spirit. Thus, He is able to bless marriages, families and entire communities with love for one another. As is written in Psalm 33:12 so is it true: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance.”

God does not need our permission to do anything with the world He created. He does not have to explain His actions to His creatures because He is the Creator and ruler over all things. When He chooses to act, no person, power, or force can sabotage the outcome. [6]

“He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain. He brings the wind out of His treasuries.” Psalm 135:7

Creation exists and continues because God sustains it. He controls the water cycle. God causes vapors to rise from the earth and seas, clouds to form, and rain to fall and water the earth. [7]

God uses what rises from the earth to bring blessings back to the earth through rain. God can command storms to rain blessings that help crops to grow and produce or command the storms to become violent and destroy crops and homes. He can make the earth peaceful or cause it to shake and roar. [8]

Psalm 135 says that God brings the winds “out of His treasuries.” Just as a wise ruler carefully manages his resources, God can direct the forces of nature according to His purpose. [9]

“He destroyed the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast. He sent signs and wonders into the midst of you, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh and all his servants.” Psalm 135:8-9

God humbled Pharaoh through mighty miracles. These events are called signs and wonders because they are extraordinary events which make known God’s reign over earthly empires.

God protected His own people from the plagues that He brought upon Pharaoh and Egypt. The final plague, the death of Egypt’s firstborn, caused Pharaoh to release his grip on Israel. [10]

“He defeated many nations and slew mighty kings—Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan —and gave their land as a heritage, a heritage to Israel His people.” Psalm 135:10-12

When Israel entered the Promised Land, they faced strong enemies. These nations had large armies, great strength, and powerful kings, yet God defeated them. Sihon, Og and all the kingdoms of Canaan are specifically mentioned. No earthly power or spiritual enemy can stop God from fulfilling His promises. God’s purposes always prevail. [11]

God gave the Promised Land to Israel as their inheritance. Their ancestors had received the promise, and their descendants eventually received the land. [12]

“Your Name, O Lord, endures forever, Your fame, O Lord, throughout all generations. For the Lord will judge His people, and He will have compassion on His servants.” Psalm 135:13-14

These verses are from the song of Moses which is recorded in Deuteronomy 32:36: “For the Lord will judge His people and have compassion on His servants, when He sees that their power is gone, and there is no one remaining, bond or free.” [13]

God’s character, reputation, and glory never change. What God does lasts forever. In Ecclesiastes 3:14, it is written, “What God does, it shall be forever.” [14]

“He will judge his people” means that God will stand up for them and protect them when others oppose them. God may correct His people, but He does not abandon them. [15] He has the “backbone” to correct our wrongdoings and also the compassion to heal our wounds.

“The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak. Eyes they have, but they do not see. They have ears, but they do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths.” Psalm 135:15-18

God speaks the truth. He doesn’t go along with the fantasy of some people who worship things made with human hands. Why would the living God allow something created from dead materials become the source of salvation for eternal souls? He doesn’t.

Only God Almighty Maker of heaven and earth brings human souls to paradise. Only He can clothe the departed soul of a dead body with a new celestial body. Only He can sustain and provide for that person’s happily-ever-after.

Idols have the appearance of things that live but have no life. They may have features that resemble human or animal features, but none of them are operational. It is foolish to trust in something that cannot even help itself. [16]

“Those who make them are like them. So is everyone who trusts in them.” Psalm 135:18

Worship shapes the worshiper. Those who worship a powerless object do not receive God’s power. God anoints His worshippers with His power to love as He loves.

“Bless the Lord, O house of Israel! Bless the Lord, O house of Aaron! Bless the Lord, O house of Levi! You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!” Psalm 135:19-20

The psalmist calls everyone who knows God to bless and praise Him. “The house of Israel” is a reference to all God’s people. “The house of Aaron” is a reference to the priests who served as mediators, instructors and intercessors for God’s people. “The house of Levi” is a reference to those who assisted in the ministry of the sanctuary. “All who fear the Lord” is a reference to those outside Israel who still love, honor and worship the Lord. [17]

Everyone should bless the Lord. He alone deserves our trust and gratitude. When we depend on Him, He gives us countless reasons to praise Him. [18]

“Blessed be the Lord out of Zion, who dwells in Jerusalem! Praise the Lord!” Psalm 135:21

Psalm 135 concludes with a call to all people to bless the Lord who reigns over the earth from Jerusalem. While we don’t visibly see Him with our eyes, He is present by His Spirit. And soon, and very soon, in the blink of an eye, like a flash of lightning, He will split the eastern sky and return to earth. Then, He will reign visibly and triumphantly over all the kingdoms of this world.

The former conquerors of the world are types of Christ but they all failed. Even those who conquered large portions of earth’s population, what did they do with the people afterwards? Did the quality of life improve for everyone or just for a small percentage of survivors? When Christ returns, He will make all things new.

In Isaiah 65:17, it is written, “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.”

In 2 Peter 3:13, it is written, “We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

In Revelation 3:12, Jesus declared, “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.” This means Jesus will make us permanent residents of new Jerusalem. He will place on us God’s Name which means we will belong with Him there forever.


[1-18] Material developed, added to and edited from Matthew Henry’s Commentary